As a former part-time Hancocks (of Tupulo, MS) clerk in suburban Colorado, until 2006, we followed an informal practice of asking the customer if she could use the remanent that would result if we cut as wanted, then either give it to her or negotiate a good price. That way the store didn't get many remanents that are rather useless or had to be re-measured, re-priced by employees and then placed into a bin of such items. It does not hurt the company to "give" a bit more when cutting to assure that a full yard is cut, and I firmly believe the price each company pays for such cheating or perceived short-cuts is too high to allow. When short-cuts come up, SCREAM right away to managers. Point out that it should be hardly worth it, to them to lose a customer over 20-25 cents worth of purchase plus the reputation of short-cutting.